Follow TV Tropes

Following

History Literature / NavigatingEarly

Go To

OR

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* HowDadMetMom: Jack's dad was traveling across the country to finish his last two years at the Naval Academy. The train got held up in Kansas, and while he was stretching his legs, he saw his future wife delivering a cake to a neighbor who had just had a baby. He asked, "What's a fella got to do to get a cake like that?" She answered, "I guess you'd have to have a baby." They were married a month later. Jack's father gave up his military career and became a farmer, up until the war started.

to:

* HowDadMetMom: Jack's dad was traveling across the country to finish his last two years at the Naval Academy. The train got held up in Kansas, and while he was stretching his legs, he saw his future wife delivering a cake to a neighbor who had just had a baby. He asked, "What's a fella got to do to get a cake like that?" She answered, "I guess you'd have to have a baby." They were married a month later. Jack's father gave up his military career and became a farmer, up until the war started.Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* YouCantGoHomeAgain: [[spoiler:Traumatized and wracked with guilt over the deaths of his fellow soldiers, Fisher let everyone think he was dead. He secretly travelled back to America and became a lumberjack, working alone in the woods. Early only knew he was alive because he happened to be in the background of a picture that ended up in the newspaper Early reads.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* DoomedHometown: In Early's story, Pi returns to his hometown, thinking he's finally earned his name, only to find that there's been a raid. Most dwellings are destroyed, and everyone is gone. The only thing left of his family is [[TragicKeepsake a shell necklace his mother made]]. [[spoiler:He does eventually find his father.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* BearsAreBadNews: A large black bear has been menacing hikers along the Appalachian Trail. It even ripped out one would-be bounty collector's eye. Pi's story features a bear, and Early hopes that following this one will help him find Fisher. [[spoiler:When they do find the bear, they watch it maul a man to death.]]

Added: 211

Removed: 211

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* DeskSweepOfRage: Early sorts jellybeans to calm himself and help himself think. Once, when he [[spoiler:thinks Fisher really is dead]], he angrily sweeps all his beans off a table. Jack helps him pick them up.



* DeskSweepOfRage: Early sorts jellybeans to calm himself and help himself think. Once, when he [[spoiler:thinks Fisher really is dead]], he angrily sweeps all his beans off a table. Jack helps him pick them up.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* SuicideByCop: [[spoiler:[=MacScott=], who has lived for over fifty years with the guilt of killing Martin, tries to kill Early and Jack. He chases them into a ravine, where they're cornered by the bear. [=MacScott=] fires twice, deliberately missing, provoking the bear to maul him.]]

Added: 211

Changed: 391

Removed: 247

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


In the wake of his mother's death, thirteen-year-old Jack Baker is sent from his home in Kansas to Morton Hill Academy for Boys in Maine. There he befriends Early Auden, an odd, solitary orphan attending school for free because his father was on the board of trustees. Early helps Jack learn how to row, and the two become friends. During a school break, Early persuades Jack to accompany him on a trip up the Kennebec River to look for his older brother Fisher, a soldier in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII who was presumed dead.

to:

In the wake of his mother's death, death in TheForties, thirteen-year-old Jack Baker is sent from his home in Kansas to Morton Hill Academy for Boys in Maine. There he befriends Early Auden, an odd, solitary orphan attending school for free because his father was on the board of trustees. Early helps Jack learn how to row, and the two become friends. Early has [[MouthfulOfPi memorized hundreds of digits of pi]], and sees each digit as having color and texture. To him, the numbers tell a story about Polaris, aka Pi, the first navigator, who leaves his home to prove himself worthy of his name. During a school break, Early persuades Jack to accompany him on a trip up the Kennebec River and along the Appalachian Trail to look for reenact the story of Pi, which Early believes will lead him to his older brother Fisher, a soldier in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII soldier who was presumed dead.dead in France.



* DeskSweepOfRage: Early sorts jellybeans to calm himself and help himself think. Once, when he [[spoiler:thinks Fisher really is dead]], he angrily sweeps all his beans off a table. Jack helps him pick them up.



* MouthfulOfPi: Not only has Early memorized huge amount of Pi, he sees each digit as having color and texture. To him, the number tells the story about Polaris, aka Pi, the first navigator, who leaves his home to prove himself worthy of his name.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* FinallyFoundTheBody: [[spoiler:Jack and Early find Martin Johanssen's skeleton in the waterfall cave. He was the victim of AccidentalMurder by Archibald [=MacScott=], who was angry at losing a marksmanship contest and firing a shot that wasn't supposed to hit him. [=MacScott=] couldn't work up the nerve to tell Martin's mother what happened, so he left the body in the cave for over fifty years.]]

to:

* FinallyFoundTheBody: [[spoiler:Jack and Early find Martin Johanssen's skeleton in the waterfall cave. He was the victim of AccidentalMurder by Archibald [=MacScott=], who was angry at about losing a marksmanship contest and firing fired a shot that wasn't supposed to hit him. [=MacScott=] couldn't work up the nerve to tell Martin's mother what happened, so he left the body in the cave for over fifty years.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* FinallyFoundTheBody: [[spoiler:Jack and Early find Martin Johanssen's skeleton in the waterfall cave. He was the victim of AccidentalMurder by Archibald [=MacScott=], who was angry at losing a marksmanship contest and firing a shot that wasn't supposed to hit him.]] [=MacScott=] couldn't work up the nerve to tell Martin's mother what happened, so he left the body in the cave for over fifty years.]]

to:

* FinallyFoundTheBody: [[spoiler:Jack and Early find Martin Johanssen's skeleton in the waterfall cave. He was the victim of AccidentalMurder by Archibald [=MacScott=], who was angry at losing a marksmanship contest and firing a shot that wasn't supposed to hit him.]] [=MacScott=] couldn't work up the nerve to tell Martin's mother what happened, so he left the body in the cave for over fifty years.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* CaveBehindTheFalls: Jack and Early follow a narrow, treacherous path behind a waterfall, where they find a series of small chambers.


Added DiffLines:

* FinallyFoundTheBody: [[spoiler:Jack and Early find Martin Johanssen's skeleton in the waterfall cave. He was the victim of AccidentalMurder by Archibald [=MacScott=], who was angry at losing a marksmanship contest and firing a shot that wasn't supposed to hit him.]] [=MacScott=] couldn't work up the nerve to tell Martin's mother what happened, so he left the body in the cave for over fifty years.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* TitleDrop: "Navigating Early was as challenging as navigating mysterious and uncharted waters.

to:

* TitleDrop: "Navigating Early was as challenging as navigating mysterious and uncharted waters."
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* LostPetGrievance: Early's frog Bucky dies a few days into their voyage. Early puts the body on a large, sturdy leaf and sets it adrift in the river. For a funeral song, he sings "[[Music/LouisArmstrong Lazy River]]."


Added DiffLines:

* ScatterbrainedSenior: The protagonists stumble upon the home of Eustasia Johannsen, a 100-year-old widow who mistakes Jack for her teenage son Martin, who went hunting fifty years ago and never returned. She tells Jack and Early to start digging her grave, because now that her son is home she can finally stop clinging onto life. Once she realizes her mistake, she sends the boys on their way and goes back to waiting for Martin, who she thinks is still a teenager.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


In the wake of his mother's death, thirteen-year-old Jack Baker is sent from his home in Kansas to Morton Hill Academy for Boys in Maine. There he befriends Early Auden, an odd, solitary orphan attending school for free because his father was on the board of trustees. Early helps Jack learn how to row, and the two become friends. During a school break, Early persuades Jack to accompany him on a trip up the Kennebec River to look for a black bear that's been menacing hikers on the Appalachian Trail.

to:

In the wake of his mother's death, thirteen-year-old Jack Baker is sent from his home in Kansas to Morton Hill Academy for Boys in Maine. There he befriends Early Auden, an odd, solitary orphan attending school for free because his father was on the board of trustees. Early helps Jack learn how to row, and the two become friends. During a school break, Early persuades Jack to accompany him on a trip up the Kennebec River to look for his older brother Fisher, a black bear that's been menacing hikers on the Appalachian Trail.soldier in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII who was presumed dead.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* TitleDrop: "Navigating Early was as challenging as navigating mysterious and uncharted waters.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* DaddyDidntShow: Jack's father's shore leave is delayed, meaning he doesn't get to watch Jack's boat race. It may have been for the better, since Jack ends up crashing and sinking the boat.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* BrainsAndBrawn: Jack and Early take these roles during rowing. Jack does all the physical work, while Early acts as a coxswain. Without Early, Jack finds himself completely unable to row well.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* MouthfulOfPi: Not only has Early memorized huge amount of Pi, he sees each digit as having color and texture. To him, the number tells the story about Polaris, aka Pi, the first navigator, who leaves his home to prove himself worthy of his name.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

[[quoteright:230:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/navigating_early.jpg]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

''Navigating Early'' is a 2013 middle grade novel by Clare Vanderpool.

In the wake of his mother's death, thirteen-year-old Jack Baker is sent from his home in Kansas to Morton Hill Academy for Boys in Maine. There he befriends Early Auden, an odd, solitary orphan attending school for free because his father was on the board of trustees. Early helps Jack learn how to row, and the two become friends. During a school break, Early persuades Jack to accompany him on a trip up the Kennebec River to look for a black bear that's been menacing hikers on the Appalachian Trail.
----
!!''Navigating Early'' contains examples of:
* DeathByChildbirth: Early's mom died after he was born premature, hence his name.
* DisappearedDad: Jack's dad has spent the last four years fighting in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, which is why he couldn't take care of Jack after his mother's death.
* HowDadMetMom: Jack's dad was traveling across the country to finish his last two years at the Naval Academy. The train got held up in Kansas, and while he was stretching his legs, he saw his future wife delivering a cake to a neighbor who had just had a baby. He asked, "What's a fella got to do to get a cake like that?" She answered, "I guess you'd have to have a baby." They were married a month later. Jack's father gave up his military career and became a farmer, up until the war started.
----

Top